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EyeEm renews with its Festival, this time in New York

EyeEm is the photo app photographers’ love. Not only it offers the expected gamut of editing tools we have now become accustomed to, it delivers it in an environment particularly friendly to image creators. Unlike older sister Instagram, EyeEm seeks to help its members generate revenue with their creations, making them as successful as they are. In this spirit, the Berlin-based company announces today the second EyeEm festival, to be held in New York on September 18, 2015. Located in a 19th-century textile warehouse, the festival will be a combination of talks and photo contest, limited to only 200 lucky attendees.

The 19th-century textile warehouse where the 2015 festival will be held ( photo: Villain)

Like last year, where the festival was held in the company’s hometown, the 2015 edition of the EyeEm Festival promises to be a marriage of creative inspiration mixed with thought-provoking declarations. It boasts an impressive list of speakers:

Topics will range from The Camera of Tomorrow to The Visual revolution with a

Severin Matusek, VP Community and festival director, EyeEm

swipe on what it means to be a photographer today. We sat down with Severin Matusek, VP of community and chief investigator of the Festival to learn more:

In a few words, what is the EyeEm Festival?

The EyeEm Festival is where some of the most forward-thinking photographers, creative visionaries and technology leaders come together to discuss what’s next in photography. And we’ll have a huge exhibition + party, too.

Why pick New York?

It’s the place with possibly the most vibrant creative & tech scene in the world. As our festival bridges the gap between these two worlds, it was only natural to have our festival here.

What can we expect?

An afternoon filled with keynotes, interactive panels and artist presentations. Bold visions and thought-provoking conversations. An intimate setting to connect with smart people. Insights and inspiration on what the future of photography is going to look like.

Who should attend?

What was the reaction to last year?

The EyeEm Festival is not just about talk and show, as this image from the 2014 edition reveals. (photo: Photo by Markus Spiering / EyeEm)

People loved it! No, seriously. The one piece of feedback we got the most was that the day really changed people’s perception of what photography is today and will be in the future. That’s what we want to achieve.

Do you plan to have Broadcast or Videos for those who can’t make it?

Yes, there are going to be videos of all talks and discussions + we’ll be live broadcasting bits and pieces via Periscope.

Why is it important for EyeEm to create these events?

Our events of our culture. EyeEm is a photo community with our iOS & Android apps as our main tools, but our creative output is happening all over the place: in worldwide exhibitions, meetups, hackathons, masterclasses, our new magazine and the annual festival.

The EyeEm photo festival mixes talks, contest and exhibitions by members of its community Photo by Markus Spiering / EyeEm_2

What do you see happening in the photo tech space that you find particularly exciting?

It’s incredible to think that the mobile photo revolution is barely five years old and yet influenced so many industries including publishing, communication, art, medicine, retail and e-commerce. We haven’t seen anything yet compared to what we’ll see in the future.

Besides that, I’m excited about Periscope and the way it transforms live video broadcasting right now. It’s in its pioneering days and it’s so interesting to see how people start using and experimenting with it.

Kaptur is a proud media partner of the 2015 EyeEm Festival and will be bringing you full coverage of the event.

Paul Melcher is the founder of Kaptur and Managing Director of Melcher System, a consultancy for visual technology firms. He is an entrepreneur, advisor, and consultant with a rich background in visual tech, content licensing, business strategy, and technology with more than 20 years experience in developing world-renowned photo-based companies with already two successful exits.